Methodology for Applying Connected Vehicle Data to Evaluate Impact of Interstate Construction Work Zone Diversions

Diversion of Interstate traffic can significantly impact the surrounding road network with increased volumes and congestion. This paper uses commercially available connected vehicle data to examine the impact of a construction zone on Indiana I-70 with 7 days of reduced interstate capacity that resulted in significant diversion onto US-40, an adjacent signalized arterial east of Indianapolis. Approximately 12 million connected vehicle GPS points, collected at nominal 3 second intervals were analyzed over an eight-week period for an 11-mile section of I-70 and similar length parallel section of US-40. Congestion peaked at approximately 5 PM on August 10th, 2020 and resulted in a 115% increase in sampled vehicle volumes using the adjacent US-40. Critical intersections along US-40 experienced an increase of approximately 1175% in split failures. Travel time on the US-40 corridor increased by 16% during the peak hour. The framework presented in this paper will serve as a valuable tool for agencies to deploy connected vehicle performance measures for both Interstate and Arterial routes, without significant investment in traditional intelligent transportation system (ITS) sensors. Since these techniques are based upon emerging commercially available connected vehicle data, they can be readily scaled to any interstate construction project in the United States.